Having been in the workforce for 15 years now, I can tell you, without a doubt, different backgrounds are important. No, not different CSS color backgrounds (I prefer a nice navy blue in case you’re wondering), but diverse employee backgrounds.

Let me tell you about my current work, since that’s pretty much all I’ve written about so far anyways. I was a hire that was slightly off center. That is, I didn’t have the background they were looking for specifically. They wanted somebody who loves Linux and creating software that runs with very low level stuff, aka hardware. I had … 0 experience with that.

I applied anyways though because the company makes rack equipment for broadcasting companies. I had worked in broadcasting for a decade, so it seemed like the fit may be there, but from a different angle than they originally wanted.

Sure, it took a while longer than expected when training me, and perhaps I’m going down a road of software engineering that is different than what they hired for, but it’s been a great fit for both of us. They love asking questions about how a user would use this product.

None of the engineers on my team have worked in broadcasting. They built products they think broadcast professionals would want and use. Many times, they’ll throw in a bunch of functionality that simply isn’t going to be used, or stuff that may be used, but not in the way they’re thinking. That’s one of the reasons they love asking me questions.

For example, one of the teams builds a product that shows waveform and vector scopes (among many other things). One of the options was to adjust “stuff” to match what broadcast video is putting out. The item has great functionality, IF you have time to play with it. Broadcast engineers may have the time when setting this up, but they don’t look at it much after that. Primarily broadcast directors would use this in everyday operation. That’s the position I worked in. I was able to talk with the team about how I used items like this. While all the functionality is great, I don’t look at any of it while directing a broadcast. I need two or three specific things that are quick and easy to get to, that’s all I need. We were able to put in some design comments for the next generation of that product, and that felt good being about to contribute to the product based solely on my background.

I wish our teams had more diverse backgrounds. People coming in from a complete outsiders perspective give the best suggestions, because it’s all new to them. I highly encourage managers to develop diverse teams and to not be afraid of bringing in talent with backgrounds that may not seem like a match at first. It’s worked for my team already!